Who is church for believers, non believers or both? What does the Bible say?

Dethbob

01-28-2011 05:56 PM

I think the Bible would be neutral on this, because they did not have ‘church’ in those days like we have today. ‘The Church’ is, of course Christ and the Saints, so that would be for believers. Most of today’s churches are used for both fellowship and evangelism, so I guess my answer would be ‘both’.

Crisco

01-28-2011 05:57 PM

I would imagine it would depend on your definition of chruch that you are using...

the fellowship would be for believer and church would be for those who want to learn..

I can't see any real reason for a non-believer to be in church if they aren't curious about the holy spirit.

Stormhammer

01-28-2011 06:32 PM

The Church (The body of Christ made up of his followers who have been saved by Grace) is first for the believer. The gathering of the church is of course welcome to non-believers so that they can potentially receive the gospel, be exposed to (hopefully) the loving nature of the family of God, to see and to hear God's call to salvation. Inviting a non-believer to church is a common method of evangelism. But as with all evangelistic efforts, it must be guided by the spirit. Sometimes a non-believer going to church with their believing friend is a bad idea.

The situation all depends on the prompting of the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 12 and 14 talk about the role of the body of Christ and how to present their spiritual gifts. I believe it is acceptable for a non-believer to go. What a bad example it would be if someone stopped a non-believer, who comes to church of their own volition seeking truth, and told them they were not welcome due to lack of membership.

Rev

01-28-2011 06:49 PM

I want to know Mark's take on this.

I say it is for both and will provide reasons when i am at my computer and not my phone.

Dethbob

01-28-2011 07:11 PM

Dangit! It’s a trick question! The correct answer is ‘Jesus’.

NateR

01-28-2011 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dethbob
(Post 149814)

Dangit! It’s a trick question! The correct answer is ‘Jesus’.

Very true. The Church is the Bride of Christ, so we exist for Him.

I guess we need to distinguish between "church" and "The Church."

First of all, the word "church" (Greek kuriakos) is not actually in the Bible. What happened was the English translators took out the word ecclesia (which means "assembly, congregation, a group of people gathered together" and is the root word for Ecclesiastes) and replaced it with the Old English word, cirice (kirche in German), and that's where we get our modern word "church."

The Greek word kuriakos means "pertains to, or belongs to, a lord." While technically that is true of The Church, it's still a completely different word with a completely different meaning.

Why did the translators do this? Well the words "assembly" and "congregation" are also used in the Old Testament to refer to the nation of Israel. So, we could argue that the word was changed to create an invisible wall of separation between Old Testament and New Testament believers that was never intended to exist. Some might even say that the word "church" was added to the Bible to prevent the evangelization of Jews into the Body of Christ.

So, "church" as a building that people visit on Sunday mornings, has no Biblical basis whatsoever. It actually has more in common with pagan worship than anything pertaining to Jesus Christ. A church, in that sense, is just a piece of property with no spiritual significance whatsoever. So, putting the maintenance and care of a church building before evangelizing and carrying out the Great Commission is hovering dangerously close to idolatry and is a violation of the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3)

The Church, the Assembly or Congregation of Believers, is us. So, when asking the question of "Who is the Church for?" we need to think of it more as "Who are we, as followers of Jesus Christ, for?" We are The Church, and we are for Jesus Christ and we are temporarily on this earth to spread His Word.

adamt

01-28-2011 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dethbob
(Post 149814)

Dangit! It’s a trick question! The correct answer is ‘Jesus’.

haven't you been to sunday school, you always answer "God", that is the best and safest answer

even now, if you say God, then jesus is God, right?

Chris F

01-29-2011 07:11 AM

The believer. Hebrews says not to forsake the gathering of yourself together. Also Ephesians says the church exist to equip the saint for the works of ministry.

Most people are saved outside the church. This is why the whole seeker sensitive junk is horrible.